I am NOT a Mary Sue!
by Odeena Sabnach
Summary: A World of Warcraft audition for "original characters" gives Vinaiya, a Night Elf druid, an unwanted insight into the twists and turns of fanfiction. Now with extra goodies inside. To be continued!
1. The audition

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Updated (August 2010): I decided to continue this story after all. The idea was too much fun to give it up. I'm not entirely sure where this is going, but at any rate, hope you enjoy reading it :)_

_To sum up, this is my revolt against the hundreds of poorly written World of Warcraft OCs out there. I think I've seen at least a hundred "lone, young" heroes who "set on a journey to find their DESTINY! *drumroll*", turn out to be long-lost brothers / sisters / cousins / whatever else to certain lore characters, save the world(s), etc. An original character is supposed to be original – not aNOTHER Mary Sue / Gary Stu / Super-Bat-Wonder-Man (or Girl)._

_Authors have the liberty to write their characters however they want to write them – and I have the liberty to like them or not Feel free to flame. Aside from that, reviews and CC would be greatly appreciated._

**Chapter I**

**The audition**

The lounge was packed with people of all races - elves and draenei, orcs and undead, trolls and dwarves and humans, all together. Eyes of all shapes and colors peered from underneath exotic hairstyles, and clothing and armor embroidered with rare thread and dazzling jewels sparkled in many different patterns. A large plaque hanging from a wall read, "World of Warcraft Original Character Audition TODAY!" in bold, gold letters. "Leave all weapons at the entrance. No summons, hexes and curses allowed", read another plaque in ominous crimson.

Most of the heroes waiting were female, though in several cases it was hard to tell. Each held a number card. Some looked sheepish; most, however, glanced around with undaunted confidence. Horde glared at Alliance and Alliance glared in turn. A few Naga huddled together in a corner glared at everyone else. Animated chattering burst here and there.

A lone Night Elf woman sat cross-legged on the floor and turned her number card around and around. Her hair was the usual shade of blue characteristic to her race, and her silver eyes were trained firmly on the opposite wall, staring down an imaginary point above the fiery crown of a gnome mage. Vinaiya Nightbane was a seasoned druid - better than many, but still a far cry from reaching the true potential of her class. She wore dark leather armor with nothing distinctive to it, save for the few gashes here and there that appeared to have been mended on the spot and with hardly any concern for aesthetics.

For the tenth time that morning, Vinaiya found herself wondering what in the name of Elune she was doing here. Surely there was no way she'd stand a chance of being chosen. Whoever got picked at this particular audition had a chance of making it big in Azeroth and beyond – embarking on epic quests, meeting with legendary heroes and serving as a well of inspiration for fanfiction writers everywhere. Vinaiya could already picture them – sitting at their desks, quills twitching, eager to chronicle the wild adventures of whichever hero would be chosen on that very day.

"Forty-five! Selenia Moonfeather! Forty-five!"

The shrill voice of the goblin announcer almost made Vinaiya jump up. Selenia Moonfeather, a tall, slim Night Elf woman with amber eyes and silver hair and clad in a gleaming armor that looked like it had been polished ten times over, sat up with a smirk and followed the goblin out of the lounge. Vinaiya gave a small sigh. That woman was a worthy contestant.

The druid checked her number card. It read, "Vinaiya Nightbane: 47, Room C." She still had time to get up and leave before she made a fool out of herself in front of whoever judged this contest.

"Forty-six! Thor… err… P..." The goblin scratched his head. "Own-hammer, I guess…? Forty-six!" Nobody sat up this time. The goblin scribbled something on the clipboard he was holding, muttered something to himself, then cleared his throat. "Forty-seven! Vinaiya Nightbane! Forty-seven!"

Suddenly, Vinaiya felt everyone's eyes on her. She stood up, feeling small, miserable and about as interesting as the dried carrot on a stick that she used to prod her mount. Forcing herself to put one foot before the other, she made her way to where the goblin was fidgeting with his clipboard and followed him out of the room. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of a massive wooden door. "Room C", she read on a plaque just above the doorknob. What a strange place for a plaque, she thought. The organizers had to be very sensible about races who were... vertically impaired.

Vinaiya sighed, gave a curt nod in the general direction of the goblin, and finally knocked and entered…

…and less than a moment later, she fought back a very strong impulse to turn back and run.

It seemed that all of Azeroth's finest heroes had gathered there and were now looking – no,_ staring_ at her with arched eyebrows. Tyrande Whisperwind was there, and next to her stood a weathered Blood Elf mage, whom Vinaiya refrained from naming even in her thoughts. Thrall and Jaina Prodmoore sat at a large table, the latter's fingers drumming on the table lightly. Finally, a massive, winged figure loomed in the back, but Vinaiya averted her eyes quick enough to be able to at least pretend she hadn't seen him.

"Is something wrong, girl?"

It was Thrall who spoke, and Vinaiya forced herself to shake her head and take a step forward.

"Very well then. Sit down."

The druid did as she was told and folded her hands in her lap.

Jaina was the one who spoke next. "Before we ask you anything, could you tell us a little bit about yourself? Anything is fine, just keep it brief."

Vinaiya swallowed. "Well, I suppose you already know my name…" She mentally slapped herself for stating the obvious. "I'm five hundred and twenty-seven years old, although my parents seem to disagree on when _exactly _I was born, so that _could_ be wrong", she continued. Was it her imagination, or that comment had actually caused several brief smiles?

"Do you have any siblings?" Tyrande asked suddenly.

Vinaiya pondered the question for a second. "Not that I know of", she answered truthfully. "My mother-"

"Half-siblings, maybe?"

Vinaiya shook her head firmly, "No."

"And you're not claiming to be descending from royalty, dragons, demigods or anything of the sort, correct?" For some reason, Tyrande seemed a little relived.

"No", Vinaiya said a second time.

Her baffled expression made Tyrande smile. "You must be wondering why this sudden question."

Vinaiya nodded.

"You'd be surprised how many… people come in here, claiming that they're the sons, daughters, brothers, sisters or distant half-cousins of a powerful figure or another," Tyrande said with a sigh. "Just now, we spoke with a priestess who was firmly convinced that she's my long-lost half-sister. Yesterday, Thrall had at least half a dozen 'sons', including a troll who pretended to have some orcish blood".

The other heroes in the room grinned and snickered. Thrall made a grimace.

"You're training to become a druid, from what we read", Jaina cut in after everyone quieted down. "Do you have any special… skills that would make you stand out from the other druids? A spell that only you can cast, a demigod watching your back, anything like that?"

Vinaiya shifted in her seat. This was particularly the kind of question that she had dreaded all along. "Well, I _do_ have a stronger connection with nature than most, or at least that's what my shan'do told me a few times, but… no." She bit her lower lip. "I _am_ training to become better, though," she added after a moment, "and someday I hope to-"

"That's enough, thank you." Jaina scribbled something on a clipboard, while Thrall and Tyrande exchanged a glance. Vinaiya could've sworn she'd seen Tyrande nod, but then Kael spoke and she shifted her attention to him.

"This question might seem a bit… sudden, Vinaiya", the elven prince said while the arcane orbs circling his head spiraled in a lazy motion. "Tell us… Is there anyone in Azeroth – or beyond – whom you feel… let's say… attracted to, in any way?"

This time, Vinaiya couldn't help raising her eyebrows and tilting her head to one side. "_Excuse me?_"

"Most of the heroes who came to audition today," Jaina interjected, "were young women like yourself who came to… pledge themselves to some ruler or another, in the most inappropriate sort of way."

"Two of them even brought me letters", came a deep, rumbling voice from where the winged figure stood, followed by an unearthly fit of laugh. "I'll have you guess what sort of letters they were."

"I wanted to make sure you're not one of those… _fangirls_", Kael followed after casting a quick glance behind his shoulder towards the grinning figure there. "Falling in love with your liege can be a death blow to any plot – and the authors we've decided to work with definitely wouldn't want _that_ sort of character around. They were _very_ firm about that."

By this point, Vinaiya's features were adorned with a wide grin. "Oh, _no_, not at all! No offense to you all" – she glanced around the room once – "but I have myself the best man in all of Azeroth… well, the best _dwarf_, to be more precise. And I wouldn't trade him for anyone."

This new insight caused roars of laughter from everyone present. Jaina was scribbling down furiously, and even the winged figure doubled over while cackling madly. Vinaiya wasn't sure what exactly it was that had made them so cheerful all of the sudden.

"One last question", Tyrande said eventually. "The heroes we work with always have a say in their own story. If you do get chosen today, and if you are to become a fanfiction character… what do you think that your story would be?"

Everyone watched Vinaiya intently now. The druid frowned for a few moments, deep in thought.

"Well," she said finally, "I don't really see myself doing anything extraordinary. I can't really fight that well, but I can mend wounds and listen to the trees." _Listen to the trees!_ Vinaiya flinched. What a silly thing to say.

A brief moment of silence followed. The other heroes in the room exchanged glances and whispers, and Vinaiya shook her head slowly. This had been a bad idea from the start. Why in the world had she even-

"Congratulations, you've got the part!"

Vinaiya blinked, shook her head, then blinked again before finally arching both her eyebrows at Jaina Proudmoore. "Right. What?"

"I said you've got the part", Jaina repeated with an actual smile. "You'll hear from the author who's going to write your story in a few weeks. Until then-"

"Wait", Vinaiya interjected, not caring that she was being a bit rude. "Why?"

Behind everyone else, Illidan – Vinaiya was sure that he was the tall, winged shadow there – laughed again, seconded by everyone else.

"I mean," Vinaiya continued above the noise, cheeks darkening, "I'm… _normal_. I haven't even done anything to prove myself yet, I didn't slay any dragons, I didn't find any legendary treasures… why?"

Tense silence followed.

"Because of everything you've just said," Kael answered, his expression turning serious. The other heroes nodded. "You seem like a mature and emotionally stable girl, for one, you have wits-"

"-and you're not sixteen," Jaina cut in with a smirk. "Not to mention you're not exceptionally pale, you don't have dyed silver hair and you don't wear fake golden contacts, like some other Night Elf we spoke with just before you came."

Vinaiya shook her head. "I don't understand."

"You don't have to." Jaina and the others sat up, signaling that the interview was over. "Congratulations."

And again, before she knew it, Vinaiya was back in the lounge, feeling like she'd just been whacked over the head by an enraged ogre from the Barrier Hills. Then, very slowly, the realization of what had just happened began to sink in.

'I'm going to be in my own story!'

A grin slowly spread over her face, and she made her way out slowly, not caring now that the other contenders tried to stare her down.

'_I'm going to be in my own story!_'

'

Vinaiya couldn't wait to get home and tell her beloved dwarven mate the good news…

…If he wasn't out raiding again.

_Author's note – PS:_

_Vinaiya used to be my bank alt ^^; My old main was a Night Elf druid (faction-switched a few months ago) – she's a Tauren now. If anyone happens to be playing on Khaz'Goroth (US-Oceanic), gimmie a whisper sometime (main name: Vaalå, or just /who Val Exiled and it's gonna pick me up if I'm online). I always enjoy a good talk. _


	2. The party

_**Author's Note:**_

_There is a rather obvious reference to Discworld in this chapter. Terry Pratchett rocks my stripped socks. I also took a[nother] stab at Mary Sues towards the end. The voices in my head told me to. Honest! (hides)_

_Also, here's a belated 'Thank You!' for all the reviewers of the first chapter. I was very proud when I found out my story had been linked to the Warcraft Sues LJ community, too. I've been following it on and off for quite some time and I must say, the things some people come up with... (shakes head) _

**Chapter II**

**The party**

Vinaiya turned the small piece of parchment over and over in her hands. It had arrived mere moments earlier and she'd read it in a heartbeat. The Author had wanted her to know how delighted he was to be working with her and how she should be thrilled to meet the other winners of the audition, too. The thought that there were others as well made Vinaiya feel strangely relieved; after all, here she was, a druid barely past her initiation (or so she saw herself), all set out for an epic adventure that she didn't think she'd ever be ready for. As far as she was concerned, Vinaiya was hardly hero material.

The letter ended with the Author's best regards. And then, there was another line, one that stood out from the rest and made Vinaiya cringe even now.

_PS: We'll have to talk about your name_, read the words. _I fear it's just not authentic enough. _

'Authentic'? Vinaiya puzzled over the words. She'd had no say in what her parents named her, of course. She knew that other Night Elves – all seasoned heroes to boot – had taken to naming themselves things so fierce they must have struck awe in the hearts of anyone who heard them. Things like 'Maximus the Eviscerator' and 'Diamandia of the Seven Blades' and, generally, anything that could be written as 'Someone of Something Dreadful' or 'Someone of Something So Mystical It Had The Power to Kill Any Foe From Twenty Pace Away'. Was that where her own name fell short? Vinaiya wondered.

There was a post-_post_ scriptum in the letter, too. It cordially invited Vinaiya to a gathering at the Mended Drum tavern in Ironforge. It gave no date, but had the word 'soon' (underlined several times) instead. Ironforge was to Darnassus was Outland was to the majority of Azeroth: a place she'd only heard mentioned a handful of times, somewhere on the other side of the world, filled with marvellous contraptions. The dwarves, she'd heard, were master smiths and could work wonders with simple rock. And they hardly ever used magic, too, which meant they did it all by hand. How intriguing.

Vinaiya finally put the letter aside with a shrug. There was an old dwarf saying, she knew, that said 'All roads lead to Ironforge'. Her own mate had told her that – the very same dwarf who was now out hunting dragons in the Dustwallow Marsh, far to the south. There was something with dwarves that made them reach for their axes if one so much as mentioned the word 'dragon'. Maybe it was because dragons tended to nest atop large piles of treasure, or so the legends said. And dwarves _loved _any kind of treasure.

On the other hand, Night Elves hardly ever went to Ironforge these days. There was enough trouble on Kalimdor as it were. Vinaiya already felt lost, and her dreaded adventure had yet to start. She was about to read the letter one more time when she heard some commotion outside. Someone was shouting. Straining her ears, Vinaiya was able to catch a few words-

"Portals! Getcher' portals! Get'em cheap! Limited time offer for busy heroes everywhere! Getcher' portals while I'm sober! Man with portals here!"

Portals! _Of course!_

Vinaiya rushed outside. It didn't take her long to identify the source of the shouting: a short, plump human wearing dazzling purple robes that sparkled even in the dim glow of the lanterns in Darnassus. His staff was longer than he was tall, and the tip was adorned with an array of crystals, amulets, feathers and other objects Vinaiya had never seen before. She ran to catch up with the man, who was still shouting. When he took no notice of her, she tugged at his sleeve, "Excuse me..."

The man glared at her for a second before his mind kicked back into business mode. "Greetings!" he said, trying and failing to sound cheerful. "And where would _you_ like to go today, miss?" He looked her up and down. "Somewhere close? Theramore, perhaps? I can offer you a killer deal-"

"Ironforge," Vinaiya blurted out. The man spoke in Darnassian with a thick accent that made her cringe inwardly. "Please," she added as an afterthought.

"Oh... _Ironforge..._" The man rubbed his chin, where Vinaiya noticed a sad attempt of a goatee. "That's tricky, that is... I _could_ pull it off, of course, because I'm rather skilled in the arcane arts thankyouverymuch, and _that'llbetengoldpiecesandthat'srobberythatis._"

Vinaiya tilted her head to one side and blinked, "What?"

The man coughed. "I _said_, that'll be ten gold pieces. And that's robbery, that is."

Vinaiya made a grimace. _Ten gold pieces!_ She had the money, of course, but that was more than half of what she'd saved so far, running odd errands here and there and selling trinkets and baubles she'd gathered on said errands for next to nothing. Then again, what choice was there? Even with proper directions – which she had no idea where to get – Vinaiya doubted she'd make it to Ironforge in time for the gathering. "It sounds fair," she said. "I'll just – I'll just gather my belongings and then I'll be on my way. Won't take a minute."

"See to it that it doesn't," the man said with a quick nod. "Busy, busy business. You know how it is."

Vinaiya stumbled out of the portal and immediately fell to her knees, thankful to feel rock-hard ground under her once more. She swore to herself that she'd never, _ever_ step through a portal again. Her entire body felt like it had been torn apart and then sewn back together by a blind seamstress with a chronic twitch. Her head spun. Paying ten gold pieces for _that_ felt like robbery indeed.

It took a while for the world to swim back into focus. When Vinaiya was confident enough that she could walk straight, she climbed to her feet and dusted herself off. She finally chanced a look around. Her jaw dropped.

Folk tales definitely did justice to the dwarven capital of Ironforge. It was every bit as impressive as she'd heard, and then some. The whole place looked like it had been built _inside_ a mountain, but the roof was so high overhead she had to strain her eyes to see it clearly. People of all races milled about with various exotic mounts in tow. Street merchants peddled their goods – Vinaiya heard the word 'Bread!' shouted several times – and adventurers called out for companions for this or that heroic quest in whatever exotic part of the world it was that people flocked to this time of year. Thankfully, nobody paid Vinaiya any kind of notice.

The druid slung her bag over one shoulder and set off in a general direction. Soon enough, she realized she was lost – even though, the rational part of her mind argued, she hadn't known where she was to begin with, so that wasn't much improvement. Eventually, she asked a guard that was twice as wide as he was tall and clad in armor from head to toe where to find the Mended Drum. Several minutes later, she found herself outside a nondescript archway with a large plaque affixed on one side. It was written in dwarven runes, but Vinaiya knew enough to make out what it said. It began with 'Things to know...' and it kindly advised travelers to leave all mounts at the entrance, keep their weapons sheathed at all times and kindly refrain from any magical activities on the premises. It ended with '...or else'.

Vinaiya took a deep breath, realized that her legs were still shaking slightly from the portal earlier, shook her head once to clear it, and stepped inside.

The first thing she noticed was a haze so thick that it made her eyes water. The Mended Drum was lit by a number of candles and braziers, but even those were hardly enough to cut through the smoke. Squinting hard, Vinaiya could make out a number of figures hunched over short, wooden tables and bent over various dishes and mugs. There was a steady hum in the air, such as the one made by many people talking very quietly to one another. Somewhere at the far end, Vinaiya spotted a bar. Several people stood on high stools, each lost in the depths of their own drinks.

Vinaiya stood there for a few seconds, feeling silly and out of place. Now that her eyes were getting accustomed to the smoke that seemed to blanket all else, she saw that most of the patrons were dwarves. Somewhere at the back, there was a curiously empty table save for a large, bulky draenei, a dwarf and... was that woman _waving_ at her? Vinaiya pointed a finger to herself in a silent inquiry. Surely, there must have been a mistake –

"Yeah, _you_. Get over here!"

Suddenly, Vinaiya felt all eyes on her. That little part of her that seemed to come out whenever she was in a pinch wiggled its way to the top of her mind. It made her stare pointedly ahead as she made her way across the tavern and then look down and into the face of –

Vinaiya's makeshift self-confidence melted faster than a handful of snow in the Tanaris desert.

The woman had an impressive stature even though she was sitting down on one of those uncomfortably small dwarf stools. She seemed to tower over everyone else at the table, even the draenei – who, Vinaiya noted in passing while her eyes searched desperately for something else than the woman to stare at, seemed lost in the depths of his drink. Her black hair was tied in a loose ponytail at the back and a leather patch covered her left eye. There was a scar there, too, Vinaiya noticed, and cringed. The woman wore plate armor and had a rather impressive two-handed claymore slung across her back. There were no spikes or skulls adorning her armor; somehow, Vinaiya had the impression that she didn't have to bother with such trivialities.

"You here for the story?" the woman asked.

"Er," Vinaiya blurted before her brain realized she was being addressed and rallied. "Yes. Um."

"Sit down. What's your name?"

The druid's body obeyed as if on auto-pilot. She took a seat across the table, next to the draenei who still gave no sign that he'd registered her presence. "Vinaiya Nightbane," she said as she registered the question. She forced a half-smile.

The woman smiled back, although it was probably the kind of smile a wolf would give to a sheep if wolves could smile like the more sentient races did. "My name's Elizabeth," she said, extending her hand over the table and shaking Vinaiya's until the druid heard her own bones crack. "Not Lizzie. Or Elsie. Or _Liz. _The last time someone called me Liz, they had to take their entrails home in a bucket. Got me?"

Vinaiya kept her half-smile on. Underneath it, a small part of her mind screamed and committed suicide. "It's nice to meet you, Elizabeth," she said quietly.

Elizabeth looked pleased. "Right," she said. "This here-" she pointed to the dwarf (who, Vinaiya realized, was a woman – it was far easier to tell up close) "- is Heida. The big guy there is Aluun. He doesn't talk much. Come to think of it, neither of them do."

Predictably, Vinaiya said nothing. She could definitely see where the other two were coming from.

"_Anyway_," Elizabeth picked up after downing what looked like half of whatever was in her mug, "I'm glad to see everyone being so punctual. I take it your letter said to be here 'soon' too, eh? I thought so," she said when Vinaiya nodded blankly. "There's four of us now, fifth one should be along shortly. And then we _kick ass_. Like this one time, down in Westfall..."

Vinaiya had no idea what good it would do to kick someone in the... well... _there_, given the circumstances, but she decided it was infinitely safer not to ask. Maybe it was a human expression. At any rate, Elizabeth seemed more than qualified to carry on with both sides of the conversation.

Suddenly, Aluum stirred, then got up ever so slowly. He wobbled a little. In a way, it reminded Vinaiya of a lone boulder that foretold an avalanche. Elizabeth cut off mid-sentence and turned to see what the draenei was looking at. Vinaiya followed the motion, as did Heida. The druid felt sweat run down her back, but she could have sworn that the temperature had dropped by several degrees.

Someone else had entered the tavern. Vinaiya looked hard and was able to make out a silhouette that seemed to glow with a light of its own. It was red. It was _probably_ female. And it was accompanied by a large shape that seemed to be made entirely of shadow.

"Warlock," Aluum growled, and reached for the hilt of the mace he carried. However, before he could reach it, Elizabeth's hand closed over his wrist. She'd moved so quickly that the draenei had trouble registering what was happening straight away. He tried to continue the motion for a few more seconds, then finally gave up and slumped back. His eyes never left the silhouette.

The warlock was making her way to the table now, with the shadowy blob in tow. Once it reached the glowing circle of light cast by the nearest brazier, Vinaiya saw that she was human. Her robes were more impressive than anything the night elf had ever seen before. Her hair, which seemed an unusual shade of orange, waved slightly even though there was no breeze. Emerald-green eyes peered down at the assorted faces at the table. There was a faint scent of lavender.

"I'm here for the story," the warlock said, and even her voice sounded like it was laced with wind-chimes. "My name is Dawn Evenstar, and this is my voidwalker, Hathast. It's so nice to meet you all!"

A faint 'Hmph!' from the general direction of Aluum signified that at least one of the party didn't share Dawn's feelings. As for Vinaiya, her eyes were still fixed on the ever-changing shape of Hathast. She'd never seen a demon this close before, but for a strange reason, Hathast didn't look particularly threatening. It was just the way it... _loomed_. 'Ominous' was probably a good word to describe it.

Dawn took a seat next to Elizabeth, who had gone strangely quiet. She pulled out a small piece of parchment from a silk pouch. "This is my letter," she said. "It said to be here 'soon', so I came here as _soon_ as I could." She folded the parchment and tucked it back in the pouch. "Isn't this exciting?" she asked. "Here we are, ready to go on an adventure-"

"Show me that letter again, will you?" Elizabeth cut in. Her voice had a dangerous edge to it now. When Dawn produced the parchment again, she examined it closely. Finally, she returned it with another dreadful grin. "You're in the wrong story, hon."

Dawn raised her eyebrows theatrically. "What do you mean, 'wrong story'? My letter says clearly that-"

Elizabeth handed her another piece of parchment. It was half-crumpled and bore several stains of dubious origin. "_This_ came from _our_ Author. Different handwriting, see? Besides, our Author doesn't dot his 'I's with little hearts. And he definitely doesn't spell 'lovely' with three 'L's and an extra 'Y'."

For a few moments, Dawn looked like she was about to cry. "I'm – I'll just... but I came all the way from Stormwind, and-"

"I think I saw a High Elf here earlier tonight," Vinaiya said helpfully before she remembered that human affairs were best left to the humans. Then again, Dawn Evenstar and her Hathast unnerved her far more than she cared to admit, even to herself. "Maybe he's the one you're looking for...?"

Vinaiya had never seen a person's expression go from pure misery to near-ecstasy so quickly before. "Really? _Thank you~!_" Dawn said, or rather sang, before getting up and sweeping out of the tavern in a flurry of sparkles and lavender scents.

"...and good riddance, too," Aluum muttered before returning to his drink.

Several moments of pensive silence followed.

"There wasn't any elf, was there?" Elizabeth asked eventually. Her voice had a hint of admiration in it now.

Vinaiya shrugged. It was that odd part of her mind again, she knew, the one that kept prodding her to do things that were... _not nice_. "We still need a fifth one, though," she heard herself saying. The letter had clearly said that. There had to be five.

"You found him," said a voice from somewhere nearby.

Vinaiya looked around in bewilderment. Elizabeth followed the motion, and even Aluum looked up from his drink. Heida, however, was the quickest of the bunch. Her battered old blunderbuss went off with a 'bang!', and Vaala felt the heat of the bullet as it went just past the tip of her ear and embedded itself deep within the wall behind her. The other tavern guests barely flinched in their seats.

"What was _that_ for?" said theinvisible voice, from the other side of the table this time.

Heida lowered her blunderbuss with an apologetic look. "Rogues give me the willies," she said. "An' anyway, there's no need for ye to be sneakin' around like that."

"Oh, I _do_ beg to differ," said the voice.

The outline of a man flickered in and out of sight so quickly that Vinaiya instinctively pinched herself. However, that seemed to be enough, at least for the others. Elizabeth's one good eye was wide open. Heida's jaw dropped.

"William the Many, at your service," said the rogue. "Though, judging by your expressions, I'm going to assume that at least two of you already know _that_."


	3. It begins

**Chapter III**

**It begins**

The adventurers sat in near-silence as the tavern began to empty. Vinaiya very much wanted to ask who this dreaded 'William the Many' was, but something in the way Heida and Elizabeth acted told her she was probably better off not knowing. Heida was still clutching her blunderbuss and glancing around every now and then. Elizabeth stirred her drink occasionally, her one good eye half-lidded and pensive. Aluum hadn't said anything since the whole ordeal with Dawn Evenstar.

"I don't see why all the hostility," the voice of William the Many said at some point. "After all, I didn't do _half _the things they blame me for, and I'm afraid there were a few _very_ unfortunate misunderstandings concerning the other half."

"'at's what ye say," Heida muttered darkly. "'at business in Redridge was no misunderstandin', let me tell ye."

"Oh I _do _beg to differ. The villagers misunderstood my intentions _completely._"

"Ye mean they dinnae _understand_ ye were nothin' but a common thief who'd make away with all their gold first chance he had?"

There was a pause, then, "M'lady, _please_. 'Thief' is such a _harsh_ word. I'd rather you all thought of me as... 'self-employed'."

Heida snorted.

The bartender edged past and placed a square envelope on the table with the extra care someone might take when they happened to be around anyone looking like Elizabeth. "A goblin left this here for ye," he said respectfully. He didn't wait for an answer as he scurried off.

Elizabeth picked up the envelope and pulled out a piece of parchment. From the other side of the table, Vinaiya saw that it was covered in a familiar-looking handwriting. She felt a twinge of excitement. "It's from the Author, isn't it?" she asked with excitement. The others had snapped to attention as well.

Elizabeth shrugged and began to read aloud. "_Greetings to you all_. _It brings me great pleasure to see that you have answered my call so swiftly. You will begin your adventure two days from now, so I would advise you to use this time to ready your supplies. You will travel to the Plaguelands..._ Plaguelands?" Elizabeth repeated blankly, one eyebrow arched.

"I've never been there," Vinaiya muttered, only to be largely ignored by everyone else. The Blasted Lands were a place traveled by only the most seasoned heroes of her race. She'd heard stories of... she frowned as she tried to remember... giant bats, giant bears, giant spiders, and... well... giant _things_, really. And undead. Plenty of them, too.

"There's still some mopping up left to do, I hear," said the voice of William the Many. "And plenty of spoils to go around."

Elizabeth's mouth formed a silent 'Oh.' "_Fine_," she snapped. "As I was saying, _...travel to the Plaguelands, where you will be met by one of my agents. She will tell you what to do next._ Hmph. Doesn't sound too _exciting _to me."

Vinaiya disagreed. The proposition had a lot more excitement than she was accustomed with.

Elizabeth turned the paper around. "There's something else here." She squinted. "_PS.: There seems to have been a misunderstanding with another Author. If any of you see a woman named Dawn Morticia Evenstar, keep well away. _Well, that I don't mind."

There was a long, thoughtful silence. At some point, Aluum said, "Plaguelands, hm?" It was so faint Vinaiya wasn't sure she'd heard right. There were many things that she wanted to ask, but something about the others made her decide against it. They looked and behaved like _real_ heroes, all of them. They probably saw her as a bother and nothing else.

"So," Elizabeth boomed at length. "Where does everybody plan on spending the night?"

"If ye have nowhere ta' go, I can offer me brother's hovel. Except for ye, mister 'Many'." Heida glared behind her for emphasis.

"Actually, I'm over here now," William said from somewhere close to Vinaiya. "And I have already arranged for accommodations, but thank you all the same." His voice was dripping with sarcasm. Heida groaned.

"I'm gonna hit the taverns. Anyone care to join? Besides _him_," Elizabeth added with a meaningful nod towards Aluum. Vinaiya suspected that the draenei was too far gone to realize what was going on.

"He's never been drunk before," Elizabeth whispered with a wink. "I figured he might as well get a run for his money. Good thing I brought some thistle tea with me, too. Cuts through a hangover a dagger through a throat."

Vinaiya was slightly disturbed by the comparison, but she was wise enough to keep it to herself. "I see," she said weakly. "I'll just... um, I'll find an inn, I think." On that note, she stood up. "It's been very nice meeting you all. I think I'll be going now."

Elizabeth stood up herself and gave Vinaiya's hand another hearty shake. "The gates of Ironforge, two days from now, at dawn. Don't be late or we leave without you." Vinaiya must have had a miserable expression, because Elizabeth patted her on the back, so hard that it almost knocked the wind out of her. "Oh, _you_. I'm joking, of course!" Then, she seemed to remember something. "...Bring your own mount though. I ain't sharing mine."

…

Vinaiya didn't have a mount, so as the following day dawned, she began her search for one. She found several dwarves who dealt in riding rams, but the prices they asked were far higher than she could afford. Besides, the tall, horned beasts unnerved her. Back in Darnassus, the highest-ranking of her kinds rode to battle on swift nightsabers that could give as good as they got in a fight. Dwarves, it seemed, had no mind for such practicalities.

As the day was coming to a close, Vinaiya sat cross-legged in one of the many low-ceiling tunnels that spanned through Ironforge and took a few pieces of dried meat out of her backpack. She had almost been tempted to try dwarf cuisine, until she'd caught a glimpse of a dish made of what looked like eyeballs of different sizes and a few radishes on the side. Eyeballs were, apparently, a delicacy in these parts. Vinaiya couldn't understand why. They looked disgusting.

Her own mate was nothing like these dwarves, she concluded as she began to eat. He could handle a nightsaber as well as any of her kind, and he had no qualms about elven food. And he didn't shout all the time, like most of his kin here seemed to do. And...

"Greetings, m'lady!"

Vaala almost dropped her lunch before the recollection of the previous evening kicked in. She looked around. Predictably enough, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Um. Good afternoon, William the Many."

"Call me Will." A shape flickered briefly directly in front of her. It bowed. "And what's your name?"

"Vinaiya Nightbane. Um." She couldn't help it; she _had_ to ask. "Why do they call you 'the Many'?"

There was a chuckle, then, "That's because of all those wanted posters of me they put up all over the place. Maybe you've seen a few?"

Vinaiya shook her head, "Sorry."

"They just can't seem to reach a consensus on how I look. I could be anyone. And any_where._"

"You're here now," Vinaiya pointed out dryly.

"Yes, but who _else _knows about it?" He had a point. "So what do you think about the rest of our _fine_ party?"

Vinaiya took another bite as she thought. "I don't know if I'll ever quite measure up to the rest of us," she said finally. "Everyone looks so strong... so _ready_. A year ago, I wasn't even sure I had it in me to leave Teldrassil. I fear I'm going to be a burden." She said the last phrase quietly, and for a moment she almost wished she was back in her stone-and-wood home, reading and meditating and waiting for her mate to return from whatever strange land he'd gone to this time.

"A level mind is the best sort of weapon sometimes," William said thoughtfully. "Me and Lizzy used to work together, until that whole business with the murlocs up in Redridge Mountains. Oh – by the way, _don't_ call her Lizzy yourself. She doesn't like it." He chuckled, "That's why _I_ do it."

Despite her better judgment, Vinaiya found herself grinning. "She mentioned it. Not a word about you, though."

"Figures." There was a wistful sigh, then a faint rustle, and finally an unseen hand thrust a small, jingling pouch in Vinaiya's lap. "For a mount. No need for 'Thank you', by the way, and make sure it's a big one."

"I – I can't accept this!" Vinaiya blurted out, eyes wide.

There was no response.

"William?"

Still nothing.

"Who'r ye talkin' to, lass?"

Vinaiya jumped to her feet, cheeks darkening in embarrassment. The dwarf guard gave her a quizzical look, then walked away. "'Tis them pointy ears, I tell ye..." she hard him mutter as he rounded a corner and disappeared.

"William?" she called out again, in a whisper this time. "Are you there?" She waited for several seconds, then took the pouch gingerly and opened it. There had to be at least fifty gold pieces in there. _Fifty!_ Those were enough to buy mounts and provisions for a party twice as large as theirs. Surely, this had to be a mistake! Not even William – wait, what had he said to her? Get a mount and make it a big one.

_Of course! _William wanted her to buy a mount for _himself!_

Now... what kind of mounts did humans usually ride...?

…

The sun had yet to rise when the party met by the gates of Ironforge. Heida had been the first to arrive, with Vinaiya closely in tow. She assumed that William was around, too, but with all the guards milling around, the rogue probably chose to keep himself out of sight. Elizabeth and Aluum showed up much later, the first humming a quiet tune to herself while the second looked like he had seen much better days. For the first time, Vinaiya got a good look at the draenei. His stature was impressive, but his demeanor was kind.

Well... _usually_ kind, anyway. As Aluum spotted the other party that was gathering outside the gates, his expression went from blank to an open sneer.

A little distance away, Dawn Morticia Evenstar stood with two other men who looked remarkably like each other, except that one was clad in plate armor and the other wore some sort of a dress. They both looked like high elves. And they both looked smitten. As for Dawn herself, she looked regal, or at least as regal as one could look while wearing an almost shapeless fur cloak and shivering in the cold.

As her own party saddled up and set off after the customary morning greetings and well-wishing all around, Vinaiya felt an added weight suddenly settle in the saddle behind her.

"Good morning," said William the Many. "Excellent tastes, by the way. I couldn't have chosen better myself."

"I can get off if you'd like," Vinaiya muttered. After all, this was _his_ mount... right?

"No need. If the mount gets tired, I can always get off and run."

"What? I – you can't really -"

"Oh, it would be no problem at all. I can run very fast, you know. Just ask Lizzy."

"Die. In. A. Fire," Elizabeth growled without turning.

And with that, the journey began.


End file.
